Saturday reader's view: Carbon tax needed

By the Midland Daily News

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, April 19, 2014

To the editor:

Many people believe that the consensus among climate scientists concerning the reality of human-caused global warming is more than 97 percent — but the surveys used to calculate this often cited number included research papers now more than 20 years old (skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus).

A more recent survey of 2,258 peer-reviewed research articles concerning climate change, authored by a total of 9,136 scientists and published last year, found a single paper by a lone Russian author that suggested a different cause, but did not deny that global warming is happening. This author’s motivation was revealed in his first paragraph; he is concerned about Russia’s ability to sell oil and gas. So, among more than 9,000 climate scientists who published last year, the consensus was 99.99 percent. Discounting the lone shill for Russian oil, the consensus was 100 percent (desmogblog.com/2014/01/08/why-climate-deniers-have-no-scientific-credibility).

What most people do not realize is the consensus among economists about the most effective solution to climate change is also nearly unanimous. Brookings Institute economist Adele Morris cites a survey of 40 prominent economists from across the political and demographic spectrum in which 95 percent of responses, weighted by level of confidence of the respondent, agreed with the statement: “A tax on the carbon content of fuels would be a less expensive way to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions than would a collection of policies such as ‘corporate average fuel economy’ requirements for automobiles.” And by the same method, 98 percent of the same group agreed: “Given the negative externalities created by carbon dioxide emissions, a federal carbon tax at this rate ($20/ton, increasing 4 percent per year) would involve fewer harmful net distortions to the U.S. economy than a tax increase that generated the same revenue by raising marginal tax rates on labor income across the board.”

The reality of the problem is clear. The best solution is clear. All we lack is the political will and the politicians to act on it. See CitizensClimateLobby.org for a full discussion of a carbon tax and rebate system, and ways to engage your own energy in this fight to save our children’s future.